Sending seeds to your mama without legal drama

Ernest is a sweet dude. Earlier this week, he tweeted about his desire to get his mom a little love gift:

SproutRobot hates to be the bearer of bad news, but we aren’t currently able to fulfill seed subscription orders in Europe. Here’s why: the European Union likes to regulate seeds and they do that by keeping a seed registry. A seed registry featuring costly registration. While the EU has their reasons, the trade-off of the legislation can be frustrating for gardeners who prefer variety and heirloom seeds. One British newspaper article estimates that 98 percent of European vegetable varieties have been lost in the last century. Many seed companies aren’t in a position to register less-profitable seed varieties and are unable to legally sell unregistered varieties. Another bummer is that smaller, local operations have taken a blow as mega-corporations like Monsanto (d.b.a. Seminis in Europe) and Sakata move in on the market.

But there are options! Organizations like Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library operate as a subscription service. Because they avoid the direct sale of seeds, the group is able to maintain hundreds of varieties *and* members are able to choose six varieties to grow. Read more about membership here.

The Real Seed Catalogue offers gift-packaged seed collections that come with instructions, seed saving information and notes that often feature recipes.

And even though we can’t send seeds to Europe right now, SproutRobot still has your back! Using our free e-mail service, you (or your mothers!) can receive planting reminders and instructions in your inbox. Just enter a U.S. zip code that corresponds to your approximate soil hardiness zone. We did the legwork for Ernest’s mom, and our educated guess matches the Netherlands with a zone eight. A Portland, Ore., zip would work as a substitute – say 97217? Pretty koel, no?

Are there other European seed vendors to recommend to Ernest? Give us the good word here, on Twitter or Facebook!

12 years ago  /  8 notes Tweet